


oh klahoma

by cyndakai



Category: HLVRAI - Fandom, Half-Life
Genre: Cooking, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, Insomnia, M/M, Self-Indulgent, bad timing tho, good coping mechanisms for once!, sephardi benrey agenda, themrey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-01
Updated: 2020-09-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:22:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26240326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cyndakai/pseuds/cyndakai
Summary: It's three am, and Benrey is in the kitchen.--tears falling down at the partysaddest little baby in the roomfears, tell me fears, don't get me startedi get a little grey hair for every scare you share
Relationships: Benrey/Gordon Freeman
Comments: 13
Kudos: 226





	oh klahoma

**Author's Note:**

> Benrey is not human, but they do like to eat.  
> Joshie is not here since it's not Gordon's week!  
> They have been dating for a while now.  
> Enjoy!

It's three am, and Benrey is in the kitchen. The codfish has been in the water for 12 hours, and now it's boiled and waiting. The potatoes are cooking, and the eggs are boiling. They are chopping the onions now, having already chopped the tomatoes and bell peppers. The onion doesn't make them tear up, neither does the peppers. Another sign that they are not human. But they do still enjoy some human habits: cooking, sleeping, bathing, breathing. They like to be able to make Gordon smile when he eats something delicious, or when Benrey has got his work clothes ready for him. They aren't supposed to leave the apartment, just waiting for Gordon to come home.

It gets lonely.

It's not like Gordon is a bad boyfriend, or anything. Benrey is just used to seeing a lot of people, to talking to a lot of people. Even when the scientists were experimenting on their body, it's not like they were alone. They always had other test subjects, even if some were grumpy, even if most hated them, even if their coding made some of them mad. They didn't ask to be a villain, and they wish they could choose their path like Gordon did. The knot on their throat tightens, and they need to steady their breathing. Once they are calm, they can resume the task.

Benrey drains the potatoes and puts it on the oven safe dish. They quickly move to put on the codfish, the chopped veggies and black olives. They gotta be black, otherwise the taste is off. Then they take off the shells of the eggs, chops it, puts on the dish. It's almost a ritual, cooking. The idea they are creating something new, the chopping, the assembling. It's calming, and something their therapist told them to do. It's why they chose to cook it now, trying to calm down a panic attack. Waking up in the middle of the night after a nightmare about that one time a prank on your boyfriend backfired and he lost his hand will do that to you.

Benrey finishes the dish with an entire bottle of olive oil, and puts it on the oven. Now it's a waiting game. They play with the candle they lit up, not wanting to turn on the lights. Waking up Gordon when he works so hard is not an option. Unfortunately for Benrey, they are not the only one in the house who have problems sleeping. Gordon is up, hair down, wearing one of Benrey's Terraria shirts and grey sweatpants. He yawns. 

"Cooking again?"

"yeah. got a lil' hungry. wanna eat with me?"

Gordon shrugs, going to make some coffee. As the coffee maker gets it ready, he hugs Benrey. "Nightmares again?"

"dunno. maybe. you havin' trouble sleeping tho. you ok, feetman?"

"Same nightmare as always. Xen."

Benrey is quiet. They have forgiven Gordon long ago, in fact, accepted that he deserved what he got. Gordon had the worst week of his life because of them, and he is still so understanding and loving. They think Gordon is the best human being to exist. Gordon knows that, and this is why he nuzzles on Benrey's neck. They don't speak for a while. The wonderful smell of the fish on the oven fills the kitchen. "i like this recipe. it's epic"

"Yeah? Why?"

"reminds me of home. or home that isnt a super fucked up mega corporation who does experiments on aliens i mean. they made lotta fish. lotta olive. big europe colony momence."

"Where are you from? I don't think ever told me."

Benrey smacks their lips, playing with the flame. It doesn't hurt. Their skin is too thick. "xen originally? spawned on a country on south america. beachside. real hot and made me sweaty. more people in sandals tho."

Gordon bursts into laughter, letting go of Benrey. "You're so fucked up. Little perv."

"'m the perv? youre the one thinkin about that. you pervman"

"This one ain't even good, man!"

"yo, you hurt my feelings. you got a permit for that? are you stealin my moment?"

Gordon is now falling on the floor in laughter. "Am I gonna have to go get my passport?"

Benrey is now laughing too, but the oven beeps. They check in on the fish, taking it off the oven to cool off a little. The coffeemaker also beeps, and Gordon serves coffee for them both, his is black, Benrey's is with milk and two cubes of sugar. He hands them the mug. "I can't wait to dig down on this fish. It smells wonderful."

"bro, this is gonna knock your nerd ponytail off"

"Please don't call my ponytail nerd", he drinks his coffee.

"cringe."

"No."

"hippie."

"Absolutely not."

"greasy."

"I want a divorce."

Benrey snorts on their coffee. "propose first, then you can divorce me."

"Deal."

They finish their coffee in silence as the sun sneaks in through the kitchen windows. Benrey gets two plates and serves them both the fish, making sure to get plenty of veggies for Gordon, extra olives as well. Gordon is already setting the table. It's their routine: when one cooks, the other sets the table and does the dishes. They look at Gordon as the sun shines on his face: that beautiful tan skin, the auburn greying hair, the gorgeous emerald eyes. Gordon is the most beautiful person they have ever seen, all sunshine and warmth, just pure perfection. So different from Benrey. Benrey, with his cold skin, so palid, so incredibly inhuman. They never felt so... alien.

They hand Gordon his plate as they sit down. They taste the fish, as wonderful as always, just the right amount of salt, the veggies cooked to perfection, the potatoes soft, but crispy on the outside. Benrey hums in happiness. But the look on Gordon's face take them by surprise. His eyes widen, with a smile on his face as he tastes the dish. He immediately goes for more. "This is incredible, dude! You're an amazing cook!"

"huh? yea of course i am. im good at everything. im pogchamp"

Gordon laughs, almost choking on his food. And as Benrey stares at him, eating the world's strangest breakfast as the sun shines on them, with his hand outstretched to hold theirs, rubbing his finger on the back of their hand, they can finally breathe properly. They are at home. Gordon is here, and he is safe, and so are they. And nothing on the universe - hell, in the multiverse - is gonna take that from them.


End file.
